Fagen et al - elephant learning

Question 1

what is the psychology being investigated

Answer 1

1) Operant conditioning
-This is the idea that we learn from consequences of our actions

positive consequences strengthen the behaviour so the behaviour is more likely to be repeated

Punishing consequences weaken the behaviour hence it is less likely to be repeated

2) SPR (secondary positive reinforcement) training
this is when a secondary reinforcement e.g a sound marker is paired with a positive reinforcement e.g food to enable an animal to make a marker food association

Question 2

Explain operant conditioning

Answer 2

-This is a theory of learning , it is the idea that we learn from consequences of our actions

rewarding consequences (behaviour that has good consequences) strengthen the behaviour hence it is likely to be repeated

Punishing consequences ( behaviour that has bad consequences) weaken the behaviour hence it is less likely to be repeated

Question 3

What is the background

Answer 3

-> Diagnosis and treatment of animals is an important part of captive animal welfare

-> Fagen et al , used SPR training in elephants to reliably and voluntarily get them to engage in a trunk washing procedure

-> Samples are obtained using water/saline solution from the trunk to test for tb (tuberculosis)

Question 4

What is the aim

Answer 4

-To see whether free contant traditionally trained elephants can be trained to participate in a trunk wash by using SPR training.

Question 5

What is the methodology

Answer 5

-Type of controlled observation
-(because the physical context of the elephant was changed to get them to trunk wash)

-

Question 6

Describe the sample

Answer 6

-4 female juveniles (numbered 1-4)
- 1 female adult
-All housed at the same elephant stable in Nepal
- The juveniles were aged between 5-7 years
-The adult was estimated to be in her 50’s

• The elephants spent most of the day grazing in the jungle under control of their mahouts
• They spent the rest of the day leg chained to the stable , with a freedom to move 6-8 feet around the stable

Question 7

What was the criteria for eligibility for the sample

Answer 7

-They could not be currently pregnant or looking after a calf
- They were docile
- Their mahouts (elephant handlers) were willing to take part in the study
- None of the elephants had previous experience of SPR training

Question 9

Describe the SPR technique used

Answer 9

-The primary reinforcer was chopped banana

-The secondary reinforcer was a short whistle blow

Question 10

When was training conducted in the study by Fagen

Answer 10

-During 7:30 - 10:00 am ; morning sessions

• During 4:00 - 7:00 pm ; afternoon sessions
  -no elephant went longer than 2 days without a training session

Question 11

How did the elephants indicate their unwillingness to participate- right to withdraw

Answer 11

They would do this by walking to the other side of the stall or
turning away from the trainer

Question 12

Where were the mahouts during training in the study by Fagen

Answer 12

the mahouts were present at all sessions and stood at the periphery (edge) for the safety of the trainer but were instructed not to speak or signal the elephants in any way.

Question 13

What were the 3 techniques of SPR used in the study by Fagen

Answer 13

1) Capture technique
2) Lure technique
3) Shaping technique

Question 14

Describe capture technique as an SPR technique in the study by Fagen

Answer 14

A spontaneous natural behavior is captured by marking and rewarding the behavior, until it becomes appropriate for collection of the sample for tb

Example;
capture the natural blow associated with breathing and shape it for more force

Question 15

Describe lure technique as an SPR technique

Answer 15

-Here for non-natural behaviours the animal is initially drawn into a wanted body position , by a strategic placement of a reward

-This body position is rewarded and used as a starting point from which to work on a desired behaviour

Question 16

Give an example of capture technique used in the study by Fagen et al

Answer 16

capture the natural blow associated with breathing and shape it for more force

Question 17

Give an example of the lure technique used in the study by Fagen et al

Answer 17

To get the saline solution to the base of the trunk , banana pieces are held above the trainers head for the elephant to trunk up

Question 18

Describe the shaping technique

Answer 18

This involves rewarding approximations closer to the target behaviour

Question 19

What were the 5 behavioural tasks

Answer 19

1) Trunk here
2) Trunk up
3) Bucket
4) Blow
5)Steady

Question 20

Explain “Trunk here” behavioural task used in Fagen et al

Answer 20

-The elephant gently places the end of her trunk in the trainers outstretched hand in preparation to allow the instillation of saline or water into her trunk

-The lure method was initially used to teach this with banana pieces placed on the outstretched palm of the trainer for the elephant to retrieve.

-The lure method was removed after a few repetitions

Question 21

Explain “Trunk up” behavioural task used in Fagen et al

Answer 21

-The elephant lifts her trunk upward to allow the saline or water to run down to the base of her trunk

-The elephants were trained for this task using lure and shaping techniques

-For the Lure technique the trainer initially lured the trunk up position by bringing banana pieces a few inches above the forehead , for the elephants to retrieve with their trunks

Question 22

Explain “Bucket” behavioural task used in Fagen et al

Answer 22

-The elephant places the distal end of her trunk in a bucket in preparation to blow

-The elephants were trained for this task with a lure where the banana pieces were placed in the bottom of the bucket

Question 23

Explain “Blow” behavioural task used in Fagen et al

Answer 23

-The elephant gives a strong exhale through her trunk to blow out the solution for sample collection

-The elephants are trained for this behaviour by capturing the natural exhale associated with breathing and shaping it for more force , in order to collect enough sample for testing.

Question 24

Explain “Steady” behavioural task used in Fagen et al

Answer 24

• The elephant holds the position she was previously asked to do
• The elephants were trained for this behaviour after they had learnt certain positions in which to apply the hold cue

-Shaping was used to increase the amount of time a position was held.

-Relaxation of the trainer out of the hand cue position , indicated the elephant could relax out of the hold as well and defined conclusion of the steady behaviour

Question 25

How was the steady behaviour in Fagen et al reinforced

Answer 25

The steady behaviour was reinforced by repetitive marking of the hold with the primary reinforcer , delivered upon completion of the hold.

Question 26

What happened once the elephant was skilled in the 5 basic tasks

Answer 26

The trainer progressed to create strings
of behaviour through behavioural chaining

Question 27

What is behavioural chaining in the study by Fagen et al

Answer 27

this is when separately acquired skills are performed in order, following the verbal cue

Question 28

Why were three other tasks targeting trunk up and trunk down abandoned in the study by Fagen et al

Answer 28

-They were abandoned as they were not needed for performance of a trunk wash in this population

Question 29

What were the verbal cues that were paired with the behaviour in the study by Fagen

Answer 29

-Monosyllabic distinctive words created to mean nothing in either English or Nepali to avoid any misconception on the mahouts part that the elephant could potentially learn the meaning (as researchers didn’t want the mahouts to think elephants understood human language)

Question 30

Describe the desensitisation method in the study by Fagenet al

Answer 30

-The trainer introduced the use of a syringe in the trunk here position ,

this was done incrementally using a desensitisation method

over a series of repetitions of the whole trunk wash sequence , the syringe was gradually brought closer to ;
-the elephants trunk
then touching the trunk
then inserted
then inserted with increasing amounts of fluid

Question 31

How did the trainers in the study by Fagen reduce the likeliness that the elephants would drink the solution

Answer 31

The elephants were given water to drink at the beginning of each training session

Question 32

What were the results in the study by Fagen (regarding the juvenile elephants)

Answer 32

-The 4 juvenile elephants successfully learned the trunk wash however the adult elephant did not

Question 33

Why did the adult elephant in the study by Fagen not learn the trunk wash

Answer 33

1)the mahouts claimed that because of her age she had a visual impairment and trunk weakness

2)she had a foot abscess in one of her feet

3)She was distracted and impatient during the last week of the study because of a 2 month old calf in the next stall that kept on wandering into her stall distracting her

Question 34

What were the results about elephant 2 and 4 in the study by Fagen

Answer 34

Elephants 2 and 4 never passed their steady test

Question 35

What were the results in the study by Fagen regarding elephant 5

Answer 35

Elephant 5 did not pass her blowing to bucket , desensitisation to syringe or steady test

Question 36

What were the results in the study by Fagen with data

Answer 36

the elephants gradually improved their performance over time
the mean success rate went from 39% after ten sessions to 89.3% after 35 sessions

Question 37

What were the conclusions in the study by Fagen

Answer 37

Juvenile traditionally trained elephants can be trained to participate in trunk wash using only SPR techniques
moreover elephants voluntarily participate rendering the traditional punishment techniques of training

Question 38

List 3 strengths of the study by Fagen

Answer 38

-It upheld the guidelines when using animals as ss
-high internal validity
-quantitative data

Question 39

List 3 weaknesses of the study by Fagen

Answer 39

low in generalisability - small sample size

low ecological validity

low reliability

Question 40

Useful applications to everyday life from the study by Fagen

Answer 40

SPR technique of training can be adopted to help vets obtain samples for testing of tb and other diseases
this technique is more ethically acceptable as it does not use the traditional punishment techniques

Question 41

Why is the study by fagen from the learning approach

Answer 41

it investigates how operant conditioning techniques of SPR such as Lure , shaping , capture can be used to train elephants to trunk wash in order to obtain samples for tb testing
this is consistent with the assumption that operant conditioning can be used to explain changes in behaviour

Question 42

Individual and situational explanations from the study by Fagen

Answer 42

Elephant 5 was unable to learn the trunk wash because of situational factors - her age

Elephant 5 was unable to learn the trunk wash because of situational factors - the 2 month calf

Question 43

Outline how ‘session times’ were measured in the study by Fagen

Answer 43

The assistant timed the session to the nearest minute;
* It started from when the first cue was offered;
* It ended after the elephant’s response to the last cue offered

Question 44

What saline solution did the elephants start with

Answer 44

they started on 0.9 saline as the sample medium
they were then transitioned to plain water for training purposes

Question 45

Controls and standardization

Answer 45

• the eligibility criteria
• the trainers were told not to speak or signal the elephants in any way during training sessions
• the elephants were given drinking water before every session to prevent them from drinking the solution
  -they used monosyllabic words as verbal cues

Question 46

Nature vs Nurture debate

Answer 46

nurture - the elephants were taught the trunk wash behaviour using SPR techniques
this supports the nurture side

nature - one elephant no. 5 was unable to learn the procedure because her age this supports the nature side